Lexus GS 450h Prices Paid and Buying Experience

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I live in San Jose but ended up going to Lexus of Pleasanton (East Bay) to buy the car. On Friday they had mine plus two silver and one black GS450h. I got a white GS450h with Nav, Mark Levinson, XM, run flats with spare, spoiler, accessory package, all-weather mats, wheel locks, for $56,000. Basically $150 over invoice. This was the only one with XM, though actually I did not care about that, I just preferred the white.

Putnam Lexus in Redwood City had a silver one, Stevens Creek Lexus in San Jose had a couple GS450h. It is the GS460 that is unavailable, though supposedly still in production. Good luck in your shopping, beat the tax increase!

In the spirit of reviving this thread I'm posting information on my 2010 GS 450h purchase.

My lease on the 2007 GS 450h is maturing in January of 2010. I would've loved to keep the car had it not been in an accident that significantly lowered its value. In addition, the car is full of rattles, squeaks and creaks that are pretty unbearable. All attempts to fix these in the past have proven to offer only temporary relief.

I've driven a lot of other cars, including BMW 550i and 535i, Audi A6 3.0T, Infiniti M45, Ford Taurus SHO, Hyundai Genesis 4.6, and a bunch more. Except for the A6 everything else felt like a fairly significant step down from the 450h. I love that car with the exception of the noises. My hope is that compared to 2007 model, the 2010 MY should have the rattles problems resolved, at least for the most part.

Unlike before, you cannot just go to a dealership and pick up the 450h anymore. They are now available by special order only. Which is bad because you have to wait, but it is FANTASTIC because you can finally get the GS450h the way you want it. And the way that I want is is base, without the overpriced Mark Levinson system or the terrible navigation system that cant be used while you drive!

I went and listened to the regular GS stereo, and found it perfectly acceptable. And unlike in 2007, the rear camera, bluetooth, and parking sensors are standard on the base model without navigation. So instead of paying $1,400 for the navigation system and $200 map updates, I got a fantastic Garmin system with free traffic information and life-time free maps for a combined total of $270 ($200 for the system and $70 for lifetime maps).

Now to the price. At first the dealerships I contacted gave me a load of BS about how they don't discount special order cars at all. Then I found one (in Alexandria, VA) that would allow me to buy it for $1,500 over invoice. Then I went to another local dealer with that information and they offered it to me for $1,000 over invoice. At this point the Alexandria dealership agreed to $1,000 over invoice as well, and these guys don't have any junk fees.

So there you have it: a 2010 GS 450h at $1,000 over invoice. It's not as good as my 2007 deal (couple hundred under invoice), but I think it's a sweet deal. Have to wait almost three more months though....

I have been loving my 2009 GS450h which I bought in March (just before the California sales tax increase!). I have to agree with some of your comments though. The Mark Levinson stereo does not sound like anything special to me, and the fact that even a passenger cannot enter addresses into the Nav while the car is moving more than a few mph makes it much less useful. Otherwise I am at 10k miles and all is well.